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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26899561">Threading The Needle</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/surrealer/pseuds/surrealer'>surrealer</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>The Cross Continuity [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Ben 10 Series, Halo (Video Games) &amp; Related Fandoms</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Adult Alien Kids (and also their kids but shh), Eleanor is a huge dork, F/F, F/M, Inneundos for everyone!, John-117 is a little socially awkward, Margaret Parangosky is around but only for a bit., New Reader Friendly, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, STRAP IN FOLKS, and doesn't know how to handle this extroverted dork, slowburn, that keeps insisting on like talking to him??, this is going to be a long ride, you don't need to know the lore (of either series) by-heart</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-03-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 01:42:15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>11,435</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26899561</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/surrealer/pseuds/surrealer</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>In a world where humanity is at the edge of extinction, Eleanor Cross has to figure out the balance between defending herself and her Plumbers from ONI and working with the UNSC to take down the Covenant. The Master Chief, in all of his glory and nobility, is making it very difficult to see where the line is between the "black ops bastards" that ONI is perpetually populated with  and the heart-of-gold heroes of the war. </p><p>(or) </p><p>There are an infinite number of universes out there, which are infinitely different from each other in some ways, but oddly similar in others. This story takes place in a universe where Ben Tennyson and his team were born in the 2500s, a few years before the Covenant attacked humanity.</p><p>Decades later, the Anodite-Human hybrid Eleanor Cross must return to the organization that betrayed her and her family to stop the Covenant from blowing up the entire galaxy in a misguided attempt to attain divinity. And as luck would have it, she is partnered with the only person in the UNSC who stands a chance against her — the Master Chief.</p><p>Ben 10/Halo crossover. Pre-Halo 2 and post First Strike. Part 1 of the Cross Continuity. AU!Ben 10,000. Timeline inside!</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Ben Tennyson/Original Female Character(s), John-117 | Master Chief/Original Character(s), Kevin Levin/Gwen Tennyson</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>The Cross Continuity [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2015618</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>24</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Prologue</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Did I make an entire oddly specific Crossover AU due to one (1) conversation I had with my brother? Why yes, yes I did. In this timeline, Ben Tennyson is still <i>a</i> Ben 10,000 but is not any one of the multiple variants that we've known over the years.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Margaret Parangosky knew her sins. For all her flaws, she knew she was not a good person. She knew half the things she did were morally reprehensible at best, and a war crime at worst.  She held no illusions about her position, but she also knew that someone HAD to do it. </p><p>She brushes her wrinkled fingers across the plaque on her desk that reads Commander-in-Chief, Office of Naval Intelligence.</p><p>Most of the things on that list, she accepted and moved on from a long time ago. But as the Covenant war rose to its horrible apogee, she wonders if she did the right thing. </p><p>Almost 26 years ago, she'd purged all alien presence from Earth, Covenant or not. The CINCONI would've a preferred a more... Direct approach, but the children... the alien hybrids gave her pause.</p><p>She sighs, sinking into her chair. Alien Force, the General who was in charge of dealing with the Plumbers called them. </p><p>Even now, she can recall their names and faces so clearly. Such was their impression on her. </p><p>Ben Tennyson, a fifteen year old grav ball player, who was inexplicably in possession of something called the Omnitrix. It let him turn into all these different aliens, the likes of which tore apart walls and could probably do the same to anything the military threw at them if he wanted. All that power, on the wrist of a teenager with a <i>Burger Shack</i> obsession. 

He was the grandson of one of the Plumbers, a senior official named Max Tennyson. She'd dealt with him here and there. Tough, smart and enduringly stoic, just like his spawn. What a pain to deal with either of them.</p><p>His cousin, Gwen Tennyson, was slightly better. Overachiever. Black belt in five different martial arts forms, multilingual, was probably going to be Valedictorian. She was an energy being, something called an Anodite. Terrifyingly powerful. The redhead manipulated energy on a molecular level and was intelligent enough to hack her way past all of ONI's security defenses without much difficulty. But she was a rule follower, colored strictly inside the lines. Parangosky liked people like that — they were easy to manipulate. </p><p>Then, there was a juvenile delinquent, Kevin Levin. He was what they called an Osmosian, capable of absorbing any matter and shape-shifting. His party trick wasn't nearly as impressive as the rest, but he had access to - and intimate knowledge of the inner workings of- tech they could never even dream of in that thick skull of his. And while his powers were lackluster compared to the fireworks that were the Tennyson cousins, his rap sheet was as long as her arm... As was his psych file. Mommy issues, always fun to work with. </p><p>There was this girl, Alexandra Holloway. She was the daughter of the lead Plumber, Elijah Holloway, and following right in his footsteps. She managed to dabble in the local crimes, catching robbers and murderers like Bellwood's own personal vigilante. She was way more careful than the others... ONI knew she was a capable combatant, an intelligent tactician, had an IQ of 170, but that was it. She was very, <i>very</i> good at covering her tracks, just like her dad. Dangerous just like him, too.</p><p>And then, there was Ben's adoptive sister and who Parangosky personally thought was the greatest threat on the team. Eleanor "Nora" Cross. With an unassuming kind face, green doe eyes and long, wavy blonde locks, she looked more like the lead character in a high school show than a superhero. Good grades. Head of the Prom Committee. Co-captain of the Glee Club. But out of all of them, she was the only one who'd tricked every psychiatrist Parangosky ever sent to her, for as something as simple as <i>kicks</i>. Who'd invoked diplomatic immunity when Parangosky tried to arrest her. All the cunning of a politician with the same abilities as Gwen Tennyson.</p><p>The others were just kids. But Eleanor Cross was apparently royalty. A <i>disgraced, abandoned, hunted</i> princess but still. She knew how to navigate shadowgames a lot better than the others. Parangosky knew her father, Dr. Trevor Cross. A retired Plumber and a genius engineer. Halsey had wanted to work with him regarding the MJOLNIR armor if she remembered right. </p><p>In another life, she'd be <i>exactly</i> the kind of person they recruited into ONI. The serpent coiled underneath the pretty flower. But no. She had a "code." Strict moral values that she'd <b>never</b> part with. And ONI doesn't go in for that. </p><p>Not to say the others were harmless. They'd broken out of ONI town when Parangosky had "invited" them over for a friendly chat. Made a show of anonymously destabilizing ONI's entire network for a few hours. Of course, they'd never admitted to it — even Tennyson wasn't that stupid. But one doesn't get to where Parangosky is without being able to cold read people, and the next time she met the teenagers, the smug satisfaction that emanated from them was all the confirmation she needed.</p><p>No one believed them when they said "Highbreed Invasion." People laughed and went back to worrying about the Covenant. Parangosky was not one of those idiots, but she checked, over and over again, and found nothing. She decided to keep an eye on them, instead. They managed to evade the all seeing eye of ONI pretty well, though, which is commendable unto itself. Right up until that fateful day.</p><p>Not a single soul was laughing when those damn gigantic cruisers turned up, out of seemingly nowhere at Los Soledad. Admiralty scrambled to get people moving, but the crisis was over before they knew it began. The warships returned through the arch through which they came, and out came strolling Ben Tennyson and his team. </p><p>They were called in for every non-Covenant op after that. From anything like towering tree things to runaway alien terrorists to escaped alien prisoners (the last of which caused quite a kerfuffle), they were there first. She'd even managed a working relationship with them when the Covenant finally hit the Inner Colonies. </p><p>Of course they had to go. But no way in hell she'd pick a fight if she knew she couldn't win, underhanded means or no. </p><p>But now? After Halo, and the Forerunners? The UNSC was way out of its depth and its lead scientist, damned Catherine Halsey had run off with Kelly-087! </p><p>They needed the expertise and the firepower. The Plumbers would jump at the chance to stop a war. Alien Force would jump. They've probably been waiting for the jurisdiction. After all, they were  police. And the Forerunner tech was exactly that opportunity. She'd been "advised" to call them in. Parangosky wanted to laugh. When was the last time anyone felt strongly enough to "advise" her?</p><p>She just needed to convince the Admirals. It wouldn't be a difficult feat. They were all in a flutter when Master Chief Petty Officer John-117 told them "They've found Earth." A few vids of Alien Force in action and they'd sign over their firstborns for the chance to get them into the fold. </p><p>A stubborn part of her vanity rages and refuses. But as she said before... She does what she has to. </p><p>CINCONI Parangosky taps open the commlink to the Magistrata, their leader, and steels herself. </p><p>She does what she has to.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I think it's pretty evident there's going to be quite a bit of tension between Ben's team and the Office of Naval Intelligence (but let's be honest, who - outside of maybe Kilo-Five - likes those guys?) Our timeline is up next, so as to give you guys a basic idea if what this super specific AU actually is. XD Hope you guys enjoyed, and see you in the next chapter!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Timeline</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>1773: The 1st President of the United States of America makes first contact with an alien, Garhgan, a Chimera Sui Generis who would one day be the grandfather of Vilgax the Conqueror. He successfully repels the invader with help from four unknown individuals who claim to be something called "Plumbers", the modern edition of his Plumiers — a secret society founded to "fix the leaks in the world" by stopping seemingly supernatural creatures (that modern Plumiers found were aliens) from wreaking havoc upon normal folk. The Plumiers eventually evolve into the Plumbers (named after the White House Plumbers from President Nixon's era) </p><p>2511: John-117 and the rest of the Spartan-II class are born.</p><p>2517: The Spartan-II program is commenced by Dr. Halsey, conscripting 75 children and replacing them with Flash Clones. </p><p>2520: Kevin E. Levin is born.</p><p>2521: Ben and Gwen Tennyson, Alex Arellano-Holloway, Eleanor Cross and Klairis of Aedrin are born. Crown Princess Melisandre of Aedrin abdicates. She and her human husband, Dr. Trevor Cross leave for Earth with their new born child. </p><p>2529: Melisandre and Trevor, along with the entire crew of SWIFT Base, are killed; the only survivors are three scientists, two guards, 8 year old Klairis and their daughter, Nora, who arrives at Earth in an escape pod. </p><p>2531: Ben Tennyson obtains the Omnitrix and defeats Vilgax the Conqueror with the aid of his grandfather, Max Tennyson, cousin Gwen and adoptive sister Nora. The same year, he takes off the watch and hides it away. Rumors insist that the Omnitrix was returned to its creator, Azmuth of the Galvans. </p><p>2537: Ben Tennyson wields the Omnitrix once more; He and his team, designated "Alien Force" by ONI (mostly as a joke), repel the Highbreed Invasion. Sgt. Johnson meets Alien Force and runs multiple joint ops with them on Earth.</p><p>2538: All aliens, including Deka Squad and their allies, are ordered to evacuate Earth due to the Covenant, who are aggressively tearing through human colonies. Deka Squad relocate to Xenon-IV, a Plumber stronghold, where their talents are cultivated and put to good use against the criminal scourge of the galaxy. </p><p>2552: Reach is glassed, and the Pillar Of Autumn escapes to Halo, which the Master Chief later destroys. The Plumbers and ONI make their deals, and join forces against the Covenant. </p><p>After the success of Operation: FIRST STRIKE, Blue Team is instructed to assist Epsilon-One, consisting of Agents Manny Armstrong, Helen Wheeler, Alan Albright, and Magister Eleanor Cross, in scrubbing an old Plumber station which contains sensitive information concerning Earth and her citizens.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Klairis - pronounced Claire-is<br/>Aedirn - pronounced Ay-dirn </p><p>So, the timeline is pretty vague - on purpose- as it's supposed to just give you guys an idea of where the story starts off, and first chapter should be up in a few! Keep an eye out ;)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. To Repress Trauma or Avoid Responsibility, That Is The Question</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Eleanor is summoned by her superiors and given a <i>very</i> important task. </p><p>She's not psyched.</p><p>This is an establishment chapter, so you don’t strictly need to read this. There’s a TLDR at the end if you want to skip straight to the action.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <b>OCT 9, 2552, MILITARY CALENDAR<br/>
PLUMBER BASE 21, CAPITAL CITY ZERA, XENON-IV</b>
</p><p>It all started with a proximity alarm.</p><p><em>Pretty bland for our line of work,</em> Eleanor thinks when that new rookie – Peralta, maybe? – gives her a summons for a debriefing by High Magister Tennyson. But she, of all people, should know how easily things can deteriorate from a proximity alarm. Some surveillance satellite out in the Soell System got tripped.</p><p>At the moment, Eleanor could care less about some debris setting off the atrociously sensitive bots out in that part of the galaxy – she’s been whining about it for years but she’s always shut down by a “Better safe than sorry” which leaves her growling because, <em>of course it is</em>; There’s a huge pile up of paperwork to be done after the prison break last week, and new cases just waiting to be solved, and patrols to be done and old wounds to be ignored and let fester.</p><p>For a few seconds, Eleanor contemplated ditching or postponing. It’s not like any of the aforementioned reasons wouldn’t work… But she knows why he’s been calling her down for every little thing, even if she’s still in violent protest against the command post he intends for her to have. She groans, shoving herself to her feet and stalking outside of the comforting, quiet confines of her office, heading towards his.</p><p>She hates being an adult.</p><p>Eleanor weaves through the crowd of civilians and Plumbers alike, the station abuzz, greeting the people who looked up at her with a small smile and a polite tilt of the head. Most of them were kids or civvies who were starstruck by the superhero.</p><p>It was better than when Ben was around, at least there was that. But still, Anodites were already rare. Half the galaxy was sure they were myths— beings composed out of pure energy? Get outta here!</p><p>An Anodite-Human hybrid like herself? Who runs around in a “costume”, saving lives in the public eye? She was basically a freak show on wheels. <em>Everyone </em> wants to get a look.</p><p>She knocks crisply on the door, squaring her shoulders. It’s odd, in a way, because she’s known Max Tennyson since birth but on the other hand, it made her proud that he’d finally gotten the appreciation a man of his skills deserved, despite being human, in a galaxy of aliens who looked down on our species. Which was strange, by itself. Humanity played an instrumental role in the formation and functioning of The Plumbers (which is another thing. Why would any self-respecting English speaker look at an intergalactic law enforcement agency and decide to call us “The Plumbers”? Thank God they renamed us the Intergalactic Plumber Corps, which... is still kinda bad.) and in bringing unity to the galaxy, whether that meant taking down warlords, as in Max’s case, or facilitating peace treaties between feuding worlds.</p><p>She knows the only reason she’s mind-babbling about Grandpa Max and the Plumbers- the only reason she’s here, stressing about every aspect of her job instead of at home, after the borderline illegal hours she worked post-prison break - is to distract her mind, so she won’t think about what happened a few days before.</p><p>One night. One night of carrying out the idiotic ideas that pieced themselves together during her worse days, and her <em>twenty-four years</em> of healing, of acceptance went down the drain.</p><p>It felt like her parents died all over again.</p><p>Thankfully, the door slides open, taking her away from her thoughts. Grandpa Max sits in his chair, an unusually serious look on his aged features and a holo-call to the Magistrata underway. By itself, that wasn’t surprising. Even if she wasn’t family, she would have heard — nearly everyone at the precinct knew that the Magistrata was considering retirement and if she did, her successor would be none other than Max himself.</p><p>But why was she called in for a “de-brief” with the big boss? If it was just scuttlebutt, they wouldn’t be looking at her like that.</p><p>Max beckons her in. “Close the door behind you, Magister.”</p><p>Magister. All business, then. Eleanor does as she’s told and strides over to stand at Max’s side, hands clasped behind her back. Honestly, she wouldn’t bother with this much professionalism with anyone except very specific royalty (Gwen made a list after Ben went up to the Petrosapien ruler and said, “What’s up, dude?! Chilli fries?”) and The Magistrata.</p><p>The Magistrata herself wasn’t a very intimidating woman, clocking in at 5’7” with a slim stature that made her look more like a ballet teacher rather than the head of a universal police agency, but her posture and tone commanded respect and not many were hesitant in according her that respect. And if that didn’t work, her assertive features left no room for doubt that she was in charge.</p><p>“Eleanor. You look well.” She nods firmly at her subordinate and Eleanor inclines her head, politely. “Ma’am. How are you? I’d heard you had to take leave because of your illness.” The Magistrata waves her off, pulling up other documents instead.</p><p>“Please, I’m as spry as ever.” Eleanor refuses to believe that, considering how much she had aged since Deka Squad had first met her, what seemed like a lifetime ago; Her cyan skin was marred by the wrinkles that accompanied such a high stress job, and the four short tentacles that circled her temples had become greyer with age. “You should focus on this.”</p><p>“What the hell is that?” Eleanor’s jaw drops at the image of the gigantic metal ring. It dwarfs the planet next to it, which she recognises by its name. Threshold was a gas giant, but the ring seemed to be thrice its size!</p><p>“This was a Halo ring, a Forerunner installation that resided in the Soell System near Threshold. Our research teams theorize that it acted as an anchor for the Ring.” As the Magistrata speaks, the screen adapts, displaying the relevant information to back up her words.</p><p>“Past tense?” For now, Eleanor would choose to ignore the fact that even the Forerunners, the main protagonists of the horror story of The Flood-Forerunner war, were real. She'd been certain it was just a myth — the entire point of it seemed to be about the agency of communities and planets, and how completely centralized power would not work.</p><p>A part of her wonders what else was true, then. After all, myths could rarely be taken at face value — not considering the fact that the people propagating them were playing a hundred thousand years' long game of Telephone. Were the Flood, the nightmarish parasitic villains of the tale, lingering at the edges of oblivion, waiting to make their return?</p><p>She really should’ve bunked.</p><p>“Earlier this morning, the Halo ring was destroyed, either due to the UNSC presence on it,” Eleanor’s heart stops. UNSC meant meant the Office of Naval Intelligence. “Or due to the Covenant presence on it. But the latter is quite unlikely, considering they hold the belief that the Forerunners were gods and thus, their technology is sacred.”</p><p>“UNSC makes more sense, ma'am. Any survivors?” Max interjects, leaning forward. The Magistrata's eyebrows furrow.</p><p>“That's the thing: the surveillance satellite shows that at least one Covenant Prowler contained humans in the hundreds- we assume they took control- and yet they were obliterated with no other ship or explosive in the area. That means-“</p><p>“It was a self-destruct sequence. Maybe it was triggered by some part of the Covenant that still remained on the ship?”</p><p>“Which is what we thought. Until we scanned again and found a Pelican and a Longsword, the passengers of which worked together and took a Covenant ship and escaped to Reach.” Eleanor is torn between surprise and delight, an impressed smile starting to form on her face. Somehow, the Marines have always managed to surprise her — be it how quickly they adapted to her powers on the battlefield or how bravely they faced down a 12-foot tall Highbreed Commander with an AR.</p><p>Yes, it’s true that Earth and her government screwed over Eleanor, and her friends, and other people who depended on her team for protection. But it doesn’t mean she hated humanity. Let alone the UNSC. No, she only despised the Office of Naval Intelligence. But that was a notion that everyone, be they Insurrectionists or UNSC, shared wholeheartedly.</p><p>“We've been in talks with Admiral Parangosky concerning the ring and the implications of such a superweapon on the galactic scale; Not to forget about the universal threat the Flood pose, and it’s been decided it’s time to bring our partnership out of the shadows.” Just her name makes Eleanor shake; Though, she doesn’t know whether it’s from fear or rage. Margaret Parangosky was a manipulator, a scheming liar that breached interstellar law on a daily basis and tried to dissect her entire team.</p><p>But then it hits her. “Out of the shadows”?</p><p>There was absolutely no way that the Admiral was going to allow aliens back in UNSC space, especially in an official capacity. But Eleanor could see how even she was pushed to the edge of her limits. Margaret was finally out of options. She’d still hate to have to be the person to negotiate and spearhead the alliance. But thankfully, it’s always Ben's job to deal with sleazy, self-serving politicians. After all, he is the hero of heroes. He even had the statue to prove it, bigger than any of the others. She knew no one could dispute his record. He’d be perfect for this.</p><p>“It’s time for you to go home.” And just like that, everything goes numb. Home. Earth. To see the beautiful planet with her own eyes and not a lens. It’s almost unreal.</p><p>“I’ll assemble Deka Squad, ma'am. But I’m going to have to insist on Magister Holloway being forced to stay on maternity leave.” Alex Holloway was a workaholic who would probably have walked off childbirth to assist with <em>Incarceron</em> if they hadn’t heavily sedated her (maybe on Ben’s recommendation, maybe not)</p><p>Unfortunately, she was also Eleanor’s best friend. Never let it be said she didn’t know how to pick 'em. Gwen was still technically on maternity leave herself — what with baby Devlin only seven months old, but Eleanor knew better than to argue with Gwen by now.</p><p>“I agree. It’s why Deka Squad will not be going with you.” Eleanor's jaw slacks and she blinks at the Magistrata, dumbfounded.</p><p>“…Ma'am?”</p><p>“Plumbers Levin and Tennyson are both working hard on coordinating efforts on the Incarceron break out. I needn’t tell you how dangerous some of those inmates can be.” <em>Incarceron</em> was the biggest prison in the Milky Way and the jailbreak had rocked everyone, with the greatest number of escaped inmates in recent history. The timing was pretty damn suspicious, too.</p><p>“Understandable, ma'am. But Ben is the face of our entire organization, whether we like it or not: the wielder of the Omnitrix! To carry out an inter-agency operation on this scale without him….” The Anodite hybrid argued, gesturing wildly. She can see where this is going, and she does <em>not</em> like it.</p><p>“I understand your hesitation, Cross. But the Omnitrix is simply too powerful to let the Covenant or the Flood get a shot at. Our next option is a decorated, galactically recognized superhero who has both the political pull and strategic capabilities to lead the Plumbers while cementing the good will between ourselves and the UNSC.”</p><p>“All due respect, ma'am, but the UNSC isn’t the one who has a problem with us.” Eleanor says, eyebrows pulled together in a scowl. The Magistrata spread her hands in a placating gesture.</p><p>“There's no other choice, Cross. Not unless we want to risk a four-way race to the next Forerunner superweapon, since they seem to have left a lot of them lying around.”</p><p>The Anodite looks to Magister Tennyson, pleading eyes but he just stares at her with that look of finality — like she’s just a dumb 15 year old kid again. It grates on her nerves.</p><p>Eleanor sighs and nods solemnly, even though she knows she’s going to regret this. The job is the job. “You’re right, ma'am. When will I be leaving?”</p><p>“In seven hours. Take Epsilon-One and Alpha Squad with you for Task Force; Along with Sentauri Battalions One through Four to provide support-“</p><p>A small alert starts beeping somewhere, causing the Magistrata to pause and check. Whatever she sees drains the blood from her face, making her seem a light sky blue rather than her usual vibrant cyan.</p><p>“We've run out of time. The Covenant has sent ahead scouts to dismantle and assimilate Plumber defences around Earth.”</p><p>Max and Eleanor share a concerned look. They’d both hailed from the planet; And it takes more than a few years somewhere else to forget your homeland.</p><p>“They’re making a pass for Earth?” Eleanor asks, mostly rhetorically. Her mind reels at the possibility; She’s seen footage of glassed planets, more than she’d like to remember and the thought of that atrocity happening to Earth makes her stomach toss.</p><p>“How did they even find out? What happened to the Cole Protocol?” High Magister Tennyson demanded, though Eleanor doubted the Magistrata would give him any response. No, she would work on sending Eleanor to secure Plumber outposts and destroy the wealth of information on Earth’s own defences, if necessary.</p><p>And surely enough, “Magister Cross, you will be deploying immediately with the squad of your choice. Rendezvous at Plumber Outpost Alpha with the UNSC team and take back control of our stations and mop up the rest of the Covenant presence. The others will meet you on Earth.” Nora nods, and sprints out of the room, clicking her comms on.</p><p>Alpha Force was the Plumber equivalent of SWAT. They’d be perfect for this gig, but they sucked at diplomacy. Big dogs don’t like being put on leashes around “Chihuahuas.”</p><p>She couldn’t exactly take a battalion; A small, elite taskforce, that could slip in and kick them out on their fanatic rears before they were even done with their Psalms was what was necessary here. So, she was led back to Epsilon-One, the squad she and Ben had trained themselves, before handing off to Max.</p><p>They used to be called the Plumbers' Helpers, but they were adults now. Better than they ever thought they could be. They'd been the go-to spec-ops team (outside of Deka Squad, of course). It was time to get the band back together again.</p><p>“Helen? Get your team ready. I have a special job for you.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Feedback is appreciated greatly, so leave a kudos or a comment! Drop a “❤️“ if you’re a shy commenter like I am!</p><p>TLDR:<br/>[Eleanor Cross is summoned to High Magister Max Tennyson’s office to discuss a proximity alarm that was tripped in the Soell system. She goes to see him, along with a brief contemplation about the downsides to adulthood, her lineage, her public image because of it, and the role of Humanity in the formation of the Plumbers. </p><p>(She also vaguely laments about something that “undid twenty four years of healing” over her parents’ death.)  She finds the head of the organization, the Magistrata and is shocked by the revelation of both the Forerunner installation and the events that occurred there. ONI and the Plumbers agree that it’s too large of a threat to let the Covenant get their hands on and decide to join forces. She is irked that Deka Squad (Ben’s team) cannot come as they have to deal with the prison break that occurred at Incarceron. </p><p>Before the Magistrata can finish her briefing, she informs them that the Covenant are trying to break into their satellite outpost near Earth to gain access to sensitive information that would allow them to hit humanity before they knew what was coming. Eleanor is deployed to stop them, along with Helen Wheeler’s team.]</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Road Trip! *Checks Earpiece* Oh, Sorry, Mission. That’s On Me, Sorry.</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Eleanor and her squad are ready for lift-off; But she'll have to convince Ben, Rook and Kevin to let them go first.</p>
<p>This is the second establishment chapter, so if you want to skip to the action, there’s a TLDR at the end.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Eleanor packs her necessities in a duffle pretty quickly; It’s her equipment that takes the most time.</p>
<p>Her suit is largely nanotechnology, so all she really needs is her gauntlet, a storage unit for the nanites which doubles as a tacpad.</p>
<p>She can fit her gear in an equipment case, though, which helps the traveling light advice she was given by Anator Brannigan, an old friend from the Academy — and also the tactical commander of the Plumber-UNSC coalition she had taken point on.</p>
<p>A Humbler stun baton – which she likely won’t need because the order that’s been presented to them is <em>eliminate targets with extreme prejudice,</em> but she tucks it in anyways – her standard issue M12 Techadorian Multiblaster and her personal weapon, the Pulse Carbine. Then, there’s the M8 Sonic Device, her own little invention or the Spectre Screech, as she called it.</p>
<p>Yeah, it was <em>not</em> popular.</p>
<p>She tosses in a couple of other knick-knacks as she waits for Ben, Kevin and Rook to storm in. See, instead of sending a poor messenger- or breaching the subject herself- she took the coward’s way out, sending them the official briefing, complete with her own notes on why Deka Squad was mostly excluded and “Leaving in fifteen minutes.”</p>
<p>“What the hell are you talking about?” Ben yells as he bursts into her laboratory, Kevin and Rook on his heels. The techs flinch and scatter to exit, but Eleanor barely notices, securing the case before shutting it closed and setting it aside.</p>
<p>“It was not my call, so don’t be mad at me. The Magistrata and Grandpa Max decided.” Ben snorts in disbelief, and Eleanor makes a placating gesture. “Seriously! I didn’t even wanna go!”</p>
<p>“This is <em>crap!” </em>Ben yells, throwing his arms up. “How is it fair that I get sidelined <em>because</em> I’m the strongest player we have?”</p>
<p>“Way to be humble, man.” Kevin quips, disapproving glare still on Eleanor.</p>
<p>“We cannot possibly allow this, Eleanor dude.” Rook says firmly, crossing his arms. “You are part of Deka Squad, and it is unacceptable to send you into a warzone without backup.”</p>
<p>“Actually... I’ll be leading Epsilon-One in the field.”</p>
<p>“Oh, <em>Manny</em> can go, but I can’t?!”</p>
<p>“Ben, shut the hell up!” Kevin then whirls onto Eleanor. “And you, after all your crap on working together always, how could you just ditch us? Especially when you’re about to fight the bastards that got us tossed off our planet?”</p>
<p>“The Covenant did not get us tossed off! ONI <em>tossed us off.</em> And that’s why they chose me: because of the collective looks on your faces.” While it might have been obvious that Eleanor was scrambling to logically explain the situation with Kevin and Ben tag-teamming her, both were otherwise occupied, looking angrier than they’ve been in years, like they might march down to ONI HQ and kick Parangosky’s ass themselves (or at least try to, considering their aversion to beating up old people and that witch has got to be like a million now-)</p>
<p>“I am sorry — ONI is the Office of Naval Intelligence? They are the ones who imposed the alien ban on Earth when you were adolescents?” Rook questions, perhaps the only unbiased opinion in the room.</p>
<p>“That’s them.”</p>
<p>Rook becomes thoughtful, stroking the blue fur of his chin. “I believe you should be cautious. But this is too great an opportunity to waste because of… “<em>hurt feelings</em>.” Yes, this woman betrayed you, but we should not be hasty.” Kevin and Ben both look like they want to argue but Rook isn’t quite finished yet, pacing the length of the room. “And the Magistrata’s logic is sound. The Omnitrix is invaluable, and if it were to fall into the hands of the Covenant or the Flood, it would certainly be the end of us all. <em>Incarceron</em> also needs to be wrapped up neatly, and for that, we would need a Paragon presence, as most of our still missing prisoners are quite high on the Power Index. As much as I hate to say it…”</p>
<p>He slows, turning to them with a frown. “I think we have no other choice.”</p>
<p>“I can’t let my sister run off and fight space zombies without me! And what if Eleanor gets infected, hmm?” Ben brings up a good point there. “Anodites are scary enough without being parasitic monsters.”</p>
<p>“Elijah and Alex have contingency plans for each and every one of us, you know that.” Kevin interrupts the moment of quiet consideration, and that is true. The Holloways’ paranoia worked out for them, in this case.</p>
<p>“But then why couldn’t I-?”</p>
<p>“Because most of those plans are reliant on you being the wielder still.” Eleanor states, and Ben groans, wiping a hand down his face. “C’mon, Benji. Get with the program. If this goes well, you can jump on later. Hell, we could all go back! Don’t you want your kid to be able to see our home planet at least once?”</p>
<p>It’s a low blow to play with his parental instincts, especially considering Zach was just born a bit ago. But she needs to go quickly, and she doesn’t have time to whittle down Ben’s stubbornness.</p>
<p>Ben sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Okay. I trust you, Nor.” She doesn’t want to ruin the moment by correcting him about the name. “But the second you get in over your head, the second you need me, call me. I’ll be there in the blink of an eye.”</p>
<p>“We <em>all</em> will.” Rook is solemn in his assurance, and it’s more comforting than one would expect.</p>
<p>Kevin grunts, pulling her into a hug. “Be careful, brat. You can’t be pulling your stunts with the Dragon gunning for your head — and she will be.”</p>
<p>“I know.” Eleanor is vividly aware of how dangerous Parangosky can be, even at ninety years of age.</p>
<p>“Good luck, Eleanor.” Rook grips her shoulder, and she squeezes his hand before turning to Ben who just slings an arm around her shoulder, and pecks her temple.</p>
<p>“Kick ass and take names, Nor. Don’t let ‘em get away with it.” She’s not completely sure whether he’s talking about the Covenant or ONI, but she won’t, on either count.</p>
<p>“Take care of the girls and the kids for me, okay?” They all nod back, and they finally reach the lift, Eleanor stepping in with her luggage in hand.</p>
<p>As the doors slide shut, she gives them a forlorn smile as she realises it might be a while before she sees them again.</p>
<hr/>
<p>Helen is speeding back and forth the vehicle bay when Eleanor strides in, luggage and datapad in hand. The Kincelerean is muttering under her breath, completely ignoring the Anodite hybrid’s entrance and the startled protests of the people she’s jostling (and scaring the crap out of) in a rush to get everything ready.</p>
<p>“Hey,” Eleanor elbows Manny, the Tetramand raising an unimpressed eyebrow at his teammate’s antics. “What’s up with her?”</p>
<p>“She’s losing it.” Alan says around the mouthful of ramen he just ate, making both Manny and Eleanor wince.</p>
<p>“That’s just nasty, Albright.” Manny gets up, shooting him a stink eye. “<em>Nasty.”</em></p>
<p>“You seen your gym socks, man?!” Alan yells back, indignant and yelps when Eleanor flicks him in the forehead. “What?”</p>
<p>“Will you guys focus? We have to get to Outpost Zeta, pronto! And you have got to stop eating that microwaveable crap – it’s terrible for your health.” Eleanor says, lugging in their ammunition trunks. Or tries to, at least, when Helen zips past and back, dusting her hands. Manny grips the bags in all four of his hands tighter, double-timing it to the aircraft for fear of Helen damaging the fragile tech that made up his cargo.</p>
<p>“All clear, boss. The Carriedas is ready for launch!” The Carriedas A-88 was a medium-sized, long-range aerospace transport, equipped with a handy Hyperspace drive. These were very strictly not for commercial use, since hyperspace drives were Level 12 tech and Xenon-IV was currently a Level 8 planet. But there had to be <em>some</em> perks to being a Plumber.</p>
<p>Hyperspace is described as a physical place that can be entered and exited. Once in hyperspace, the laws of general and special relativity do not behave in the same way when compared to normal outer space, allowing travellers through hyperspace to go great distances without being physically present in normal space and taking less time, measured from normal outer space, to travel said distance. Much more stable and safe than the hyper-compressed multidimensional space that was Slipspace.</p>
<p>“Mount up, guys, we’re dusting off in T-minus 120 seconds!” Helen zips off again, leaving the other three members of the team, standing there slack-jawed. “1 minute 55 seconds now!” That spurs everyone into action as they make final preparations and book it into the vehicle before the Kineceleran can leave them behind. “What the hell's up your butt? Besides your- Ow!” Poor Manny doesn't get to finish his joke before Helen, Nora and Alan all throw whatever’s closest to them at his head. “This is assault in the workplace!”</p>
<p>Eleanor rolls her eyes and settles down in one of the seats. “Take us into hyperspace, Wheels. Wake me in twenty-five.” Shifting to roll out the kink in her shoulder, she groans and then looks at the boys. “You two, read the briefing Mallory was so kind to put together.” The dumb AI fragment pops up with a wide grin, dark tresses pulled back in a bun and braided as a crown. She promptly closes her eyes and leans back on the bulkhead, ignoring their quips about how they didn't even have to knock her out and starts to think. About the mess they’ve voluntarily run headfirst into, about the fact that Parangosky probably anticipated that they would that, and in particular, a stormy night in 2537.</p>
<p><em>The night they took down ONI's systems.</em> Boy, was the Dragon mad that day. But she could never prove shit – thanks to the combined mad geniuses of Gwen and Alex. The entire place had gone dark, they had no idea what had happened in the three hours during which sweet Gwen had complete access to their dirty little secrets. Of all the terrible things they expected to find, it was two main items that were of interest.</p>
<p>First, the dossiers of the Team. Filled with all these peculiarly personal details: from Alex’s debate team stuff, to Kevin’s sessions with the guidance counsellor before he ran away, to Eleanor’s daily schedule, to Ben’s go-to order at Burger Shack, to Gwen’s college applications. Creepy but manageable. Right up until the bolded black text that read <b>IMMEDIATE TERMINATION OR CAPTURE RECOMMENDED</b>, with plans on how to take them out— locations, bait they could use, the types of weapons the Team members seemed vulnerable to. At which point, Kevin and Nora decided to deck Parangosky in the face.</p>
<p>Of course, they were quickly nullified by the second thing Gwen found.</p>
<p>The mysterious Spartan-II program. They’d heard the whispers by then. Anyone who’d worked with these ONI operatives did. These inhuman, killing machines programmed to win at any cost. Except the rumours spoke of robots… not <em>kidnapped six year olds. </em></p>
<p>This was maybe the most horrific thing they’d read on ONI's servers. The overview report spoke of peak genetic specimens that had been handpicked by <strong>REDACTED</strong> from the Outer Colonies to quell the Insurrection, replaced by defective Flash Clones to throw their families off the trail. These trainees — not children, <em>trainees</em> – were “conscripted” at the age of six and were put through gruelling, inhumane training regimens for eight years before they were forced into these barbaric experiments — augmentations. And then, the Covenant hit and they were sent off to the frontlines.</p>
<p>None of them slept for the next few days.</p>
<p>It wasn't like they'd been spared from the cruel reality of their lives — thrown into a world, into a fight they had no business around at the tender age of 10 (some of them even younger, but they didn't talk about that). But they’d gone somewhat willingly, even if regretfully. With mentors, sort of. People to keep them safe, people who loved them. They had family, even if they weren’t always there. They were lauded as heroes. Even Kevin E. Levin, once criminal mastermind! But these kids? They were stripped of everything. Made into weapons. Untrusted, feared and/or hated by most of their fellow soldiers. Deified and objectified <em>as</em> weapons by the others. And they were <em>just</em> ten years older than the Team. What would they do to us, if they could?</p>
<p>That was when the great divide between them and ONI solidified.</p>
<p>And now, they’d probably be the ones they send — just as <em>larger-than-life</em> as individuals with powers like energy manipulation, pyrokinesis, super speed and super strength (and four arms, but whatever).</p>
<p>She just hoped ONI wouldn’t force her hand — she doesn't particularly want to find out who would win in a fight.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Feel free to leave a kudos or a comment if you enjoyed this chapter! If you’re a shy commenter like I am, then you can drop a “❤️“!</p>
<p>TLDR: <br/>[Eleanor is packing her gear when Kevin, Ben and Rook storm in, pissed off that they were benched from this assignment. However, with some logical reasoning from Rook and some emotional blackmail using Ben’s son, she’s able to convince them to back off. </p>
<p>Downstairs, Helen is rushing to get everything ready while Manny and Alan are loading their gear. While Eleanor is speaking with the boys, Helen takes their things to load them onto the Carriedas (an aircraft that uses Hyperspace generators instead of Slipspace generators.), which causes them to hustle. Once they lift off, Eleanor pretends to rest, telling the team to read briefs made by a “dumb” AI fragment, Mallory, and recalls when they found out about ONI’s plans for them... and the SPARTAN-II program. </p>
<p>She hopes that they are not forced into a fight.]</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Welcome To The Know, Spartans. There's Still A Lot More To Go.</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The Spartans and Cortana find out about the Plumbers and neither have a particularly good reaction. Johnson is caught in the crossfire of that, but hey, he's navigated generals and admirals having a hissy fit; He can handle the respectful, rational ire of the Spartans.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I was gonna have this entire arc as one chapter at first, but just the opening bit turned out to be &gt;1000 words, so here's the first part of the Introduction arc! Hope you enjoy!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Cortana watches the inhabitants of the Pelican mill about in preparation curiously.</p><p>Blue Team had been called away for a briefing, and thus, she had been left with the lab techs who spent the time testing her patience by asking her inane questions. Though, ever since their return from Installation 04 and Operation: FIRST STRIKE, that's all every ONI operative on this side of Mars was doing to Blue Team and Johnson.</p><p>Speaking of the Sergeant, he sat at the pilot's seat, looking absolutely at ease, checking through the flight controls — a contrast to the stiff, tense demeanors of the Spartans. They'd been like this ever since the briefing; Much quieter than usual, lost in their own worlds.</p><p>She could sense the dizzying whirlwind of questions and apprehension in John-117's mind, the Spartan whose armor she was currently implanted in.</p><p>'Well?' She asks, making sure to only address the Chief. 'Are you going to tell me what happened in there?'</p><p>He takes a deep breath, as if he's not sure how to say it. 'What do you know of the Plumbers?'</p><p>'A plumber is a tradesperson who specializes in installing and maintaining systems used for potable water, sewage and drainage in plumbing systems.' She's growing more confused by the minute, but she answers him nonetheless.</p><p>Chief sighs, uncharacteristically frustrated. 'Do you think you can get into ONI's <em>Level Zero</em> databases?'</p><p>'<em>Please</em>, Chief. Give me a challenge next time.' It doesn't take too much prodding. More than half of the files are heavily encrypted, even for her. She'd go as far as to say that they were almost as padded as the S-IIs' files. Odd.</p><p>But what she can break immediately... <em>Oh, boy.</em> A secret intergalactic law enforcement agency called the Plumbers, who were working in concert with ONI from 2148 till 2517, when ONI cut off all ties and requested evacuation of their presence from the Colonies.</p><p>There was a video of five people, of smaller stature than most of the Covenant races and much taller than the Unggoy... If she didn't know better, she'd say there was humans. But their armour was all wrong, buff white chest pieces, shoulder paldrons, belts and wrist gloves, with a trio of red badges on their cuirass. They wore black undersuits, very similar to the Spartans' own gear, but there were metal rings sealing the suit tight at the joints and junctions. Their helmets reminded Cortana of the EVA model, but just a visual inspection reveals the structural differences.</p><p>No wonder the Spartans are irked. Where have these space police been when the Covenant burnt world after world? It's possible there were restrictions concerning jurisdictions, but that wouldn't have been much of a balm to soldiers who've watched said worlds glassed with their own eyes.</p><p>'But the most important part,' Chief relays to Cortana quietly. 'Is that Johnson worked with them. Specifically, the leader of the team we're rendezvousing with now.'</p><p>'I'm almost in this Cross woman's files. Or... Female? Is that a better word?'</p><p>'Wheels up in two, Spartans.' With no time to talk, John gets to work on doing his final equipment checks and stowing it in the Pelican's compartments, taking his seat. Fred and Linda do the same, in synchronous silence.</p>
<hr/><p>It takes less than ten minutes of them in the air before John finally breaks the silence.</p><p>'What did they mean you worked with them?' <em>Subtle</em>, Cortana snorts through their lace, but he shushes her and waits for the man's answer.</p><p>'It means they had operations to run and I offered assistance, soldier. Any other questions?'</p><p>'Yeah, actually.' Fred pipes in, the pot finally boiling over. 'Where the hell have these guys been for the past twenty seven years?'</p><p>'It is odd that a law enforcement agency would allow glassings.' Linda comments, arms crossed as she tries to glare Johnson into submission through the visor of her helmet. John suspects that the only reason it doesn't work is because he's not looking at her.</p><p>'You don't understand. They wanted to stay, they wanted to fight.' He said, almost... Wistful? 'But you wouldn't ask CPD to send men to the frontlines, would you?' No, but the Chicago Police Department's jurisdiction ended at Chicago. The Plumbers were a whole other level. 'They don't interfere in interplanetary affairs unless there's a violation of the Accords by a ratified party or the ruling government asks them to step in. The UEG never did, and the Covenant never signed the Accords, so it's outta their hands. Now, you might not wanna bring that up, Nora can get pretty cranky about ONI.'</p><p>Fred, Linda and John share questioning glances.</p><p>'Eleanor Cross? <em>Magister Second Class</em> Eleanor Cross?' Cortana pipes in, and her hesitation is an obvious sign of her slow progress with the files. John understands that because of the sheer mass of data she's still carrying around from Halo, her processes have decreased in efficiency quite a bit. She assures him that once she filters out what she might need in the future and dumps everything else, she'll be fine. He's not sure... But he trusts her. </p><p>'That's her, yeah.' There's an odd fondness in his tone that confused Chief. But he supposes he might have some good memories with the aliens.</p><p>'The squad we'll be working with is Epsilon-One. Cortana?' Johnson plugs in a datachip, and Chief takes notice of the lengths ONI is going to hide the existence of the Plumbers.</p><p>'Epsilon-One, consisting of Plumber Agents First Class Wheeler, Armstrong and Albright.' Cortana recites, cocking her hip and placing her hands on them. 'She's fast, he's strong and he's weird. In that order. The last one, Albright? Apparently, he lights on fire. Fun. Led by Cross, who manipulates a form of energy known as mana at a molecular level.' She turns to the Spartans with a sardonic smile. 'Excited yet?'</p><p>'Very.' Fred grumbles, leaning back into his seat. John can't help but agree.</p><p>'Hmm.' Cortana hums, stroking her chin. 'Apparently, the Magister can utilise verbal commands to manipulate physical matter as well.'</p><p>'Verbal commands?' Fred asks.</p><p>'Well, actually the words they use in the transcripts is crazy voodoo spells, but...' Cortana trails off, eyeing Johnson when he chuckles.</p><p>'Trust me. No report is gonna make sense till you see the real deal. Thankfully for us, we're an hour out.' Chief sits up straight. These "Plumbers" had an outpost one hour away from Earth, and no one had noticed? They either had more advanced cloaking technology than humanity had ever seen, or it was that ONI charm that persuaded people to forget.</p><p>Well. Fighting with aliens instead of against them was sure to be a change of pace, even if it wasn't exactly what he imagined when he thought up the concept.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Next chapter is where Eleanor and the Helpers  meet Blue Team, and we finally get some action up in this place! </p><p>Leave a kudos or comment if you liked the story so far, or have any criticisms! </p><p>I'm thinking of doing a Q&amp;A thing where I leave a question for you guys at the end of every chapter's notes. Should I?</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Close Encounters Of The Third Kind Pt.1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>On one side of Outpost Alpha, the Spartans encounter Helen Wheeler and Manny Armstrong. On the other side, Alan Albright gets ambushed by a bunch of Grunts and Eleanor Cross throws hands with an Elite Major.</p><p>Fun times all around!</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> All they had to do was turn into a hallway to be swarmed by enemies. </p><p>Eleanor was wondering whether it was a bad idea to split her team, right off the bat - Team 1 on the West Wing and Team 2 on the East Wing - but right now, stuffed in a long, tight corridor with at least twenty Unggoy and three blue Sangheili (and... Were those <em>Yanme'e</em> in the back? Wonderful), she doesn't want anyone except Alan Albright at her back. </p><p>Without a word, they raise their hands and unleash rays of mana and rippling fire that cooks everyone, melting armor and flesh. Thankfully, it's all done with quickly, minimal cruelty and pain. </p><p>God, this is gonna cause her nightmares in a few days. </p><p>They decide to float above the carcasses instead of picking their way through them — neither wants to accidentally step on a skull with the structural integrity of an overcooked pastry.  </p><p>They come across the main bullpen, littered with multiple terminals that the intruders could've used to gain access. She cocks her head and Albright nods, going to work on manually and thoroughly erasing the files. Usually, the built in system did these menial tasks, but she made sure the systems were down before anyone entered; because if they could use it to delete sensitive information, she's sure the Covenant - or more specifically the Huragok, if reports were accurate- can use it to obtain sensitive information. </p><p>She looks up. Right above them was a walkway that led to an office that overlooked the entire room - she'd bet anything it was the senior officer's. She flies up and drops down silently, creeping to the doorway. </p><p>There he is, raising his gun as he stares at Alan work. He has a long rifle - the Type-31 Needle Rifle. His crimson armor glints in the dim lighting.</p><p>
  <em>Bitch. </em>
</p><p>Eleanor smirks, getting into tackle form. She can take him. </p><p>--- </p><p>Master Chief moves through the strange satellite, full of technology that was both similar and startlingly different from what he was familiar with, Fred and Linda covering his flanks, with Sgt. Johnson running comms from the ship. He would've come, if only he had rebreathing capabilities, since this station's life support (and everything else besides basic sensors) had been shut down, likely years ago. </p><p>A fact that the <em>Intergalactic Plumber Corps</em> (which was apparently their official name) neglected to inform them of.</p><p>Besides the few Grunts, Jackals and Elites that had acted as a welcoming party in the back entrance, they hadn't come across anyone else. This operation was getting weirder and weirder. </p><p>The other team was nowhere to be seen. But they were heard, in thuds and squeals and flying methane tanks.</p><p>'There they go again.' Fred says as the sound of plasma shots ring around them, much closer than before. </p><p>'I just hope they leave a few for us.' Linda comments dryly. </p><p>'Two members of Epsilon-One should be right up ahead.' Cortana informs them. 'Their IFF tags read behind that door.' </p><p>John cocks his helmet at his second-in-command, and then flattens himself against the wall, Linda following his lead as Fred sends a SPNKR missile straight at the door. </p><p>The metal crumbles into itself like paper and drops, right on top of a squadron of Jackals, judging by the <em>squacks</em> John hears through the helmet comms. After doing nothing for so long, he admits that was satisfying. </p><p>There's a giant walled in room inside the chamber and with a few concise gestures, John motions for Fred to go to the left, Linda to get to a vantage point and he takes the right of the room. </p><p>'Contact!' Fred yells almost immediately. 'Some four-armed behemoth!' John hears grenades and turns to intercept before he's knocked on his back by some speeding blur of blue and black.</p><p>'I'm down! And it's fast.' He warns, already taking a knee and sweeping for whatever hit him. </p><p>John raises his assault rifle and rounds the corner to find the "four-armed behemoth" Fred was talking about arguing with a seemingly female saurian creature with a tail and spherical orbs on its feet. </p><p>'Hands.' John startles them and the big red one looks like he might just take his chances with the four blasters in his hands. He knows Linda's already lining up her shot. 'Cortana?' </p><p>'They match the given descriptions, Chief— they're from Epsilon-One.' She confirms, and Chief relaxed his arm, lowering his gun. </p><p>'You're the Plumbers?' The female nods, stepping forward. </p><p>'Yes, sir. Magister Wheeler, at your service. This,' She gestures to the stiff giant behind her. 'Is Magister Armstrong. You must be the Master Chief.' He nods crisply.</p><p>'Sierra-117. That's Fred-104, and Linda-058.' Wheeler frowns, and Armstrong's head snaps up to where Linda is making her way to them.</p><p>'...Colour me impressed.' Armstrong mutters under his breath before clearing his throat, reporting the mission parameters. 'Well, we've cleared the terminals here -- Team 1 should be doing the same over in the East Wing. We're supposed to meet them at the Cyber Offices. Once we trash that, we can configure this and the others to self-destruct.' </p><p>'You don't have protocols in place?' Fred questions.</p><p>'None that a Huragok couldn't overwrite.' Wheeler informs them, crossing her arms. 'Once we realised that it was the Covenant coming for us, Magister Cross implemented security policies that we generally use for galvanic mechamorphs and the like -- technologically adept species. Manny, we need to notify Eleanor about the Spartans.' Armstrong nods and raises a hand to his ear. </p><p>Chief, Linda and Fred share a glance. <em>Spartans</em>. Not UNSC, not SpecOps, Spartans. </p><p>Either it was a whole bunch of coincidences, or something else was going on here that Chief didn't know. He didn't like that one bit. He listens carefully as Armstrong comms Epsilon-One.</p><p>'Epsilon Leader, Team 2 has made contact with Blue Team. We're clear in the hangar. How's Team 1 doing?'</p><p>---</p><p>
  <em>'Epsilon Leader, Team 2 has made contact with Blue Team. We're clear in the hangar. How's Team 1 doing?' </em>
</p><p>'Not clear!' Eleanor grunts, the Sangheili slamming her against the wall hard. <em>'Very not clear!' </em></p><p>She allows the mana to course through her, enhancing her strength.  The Sangheili brings down the barrel of his rifle on her head, but she catches his wrist, blocking the swing - barely. Damn it, need to move quicker - shoves him off. He pirouettes, trying to dig his elbow into her skull but she catches that one, too and pins one arm over his other elbow and sidesteps him to slam him up against the wall, with enough force to cause a nice little dent. </p><p>Or was that the one he made with <em>her</em> back? </p><p>'He-<em>ey,</em> you little <em>bastards!'</em> She hears Alan yell as the fanfare begins downstairs with something chattering about "Yapyap" and plasma pistol fire . </p><p>That moment of distraction is enough to break her concentration and he pulls out of her hold, moving the same way she did to toss her away. </p><p>She twists herself to land on her feet, but she underestimated how strong the creature was and lost her footing, twisting again so that she'd at least slide back on her knees — giving her the room to whip out a mana tendril around his body, and throw him into the ceiling. </p><p>Eleanor puts three rounds into his skull with her sidearm before he can shake off the disorientation. </p><p>She runs to the walkway, heaving. No more CQC with the Sangheili. At least not without further research. </p><p>Looking down, Alan is floating - in full Pyronite form - above three Unggoy and two Kig-Yar, all dead. He flashes her a thumbs-up.</p><p>'Scratch that. Bullpen is clear.' She relays through the comms. She mirrors his gesture with a smile. Man, she missed working with these guys. But her smile drops when she checks the surveillance cameras. </p><p>'Magister, we're linking up Blue Team.' Helen informs her dutifully.</p><p>'Nice to have some backup, Spartans. Stick to the plan -- they're in the Cyber Offices. Locked down for the moment, but I don't have much faith in those security shutters. Mop up the stragglers.' TheAnodite snaps her fingers and makes a gesture for Alan to wrap up downstairs and follow her as she pushes off the ground, Manny's affirmative response sounding in her ear. </p><p>'Wait, wait, Eleanor!' She snaps her head to the dark-skinned man, who motions for her to check her HUD. </p><p>'Shit.' Reinforcements. At least five Phantoms and seven Banshees <em>in the first wave. </em></p><p>'Is there a problem, Magister?' The deep voice of one of the Spartans prompts her to check her HUD. It indicates that it's Blue-One speaking, Master Chief Petty Officer John-117.  </p><p>'Seems we're not the only ones who brought in more players. Covenant reinforcements are on their way. Wheeler, you go ahead on to the Cyber Offices. Join us when you're done. Everyone else, get to the hangar and repel our guests.' She looks over her shoulder to see Alan nod crisply. </p><p>'Cross out.'</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>As always, feedback is appreciated! Leave a kudos or a comment if you enjoyed!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Close Encounters Of The Third Kind Pt.2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Two things were certain as they entered the hangar to meet the Covenant's reinforcement and dived into the fight — The Spartans were absolute <em>beasts</em>, and the Covies didn't stand a damn chance.</p><p>No... Not beasts. Beasts are mindless and savage, and neither attributes do these soldiers any justice.</p><p>She realises that with a backstory like that- years upon years of rigorous training and experimentation to create and hone the perfect weapons- would result in something like the impressive titans in front of her, engaging the foe with meticulous but damaging strikes.</p><p>She's dealt with forces of nature before: from half grown, crawling abominations that hailed from other realms, to gigantic warlords that broke armies in half, to world enders... And yet, the Spartans with their precise brutality and unimaginable swiftness and strength succeed in making her stop and watch more than once.</p><p>Despite the sniper being an icon of long-range weaponry, Linda-058 seems to have no issues sweeping through the Elites from right behind Eleanor. Frederic-104 wades through enemies, knives in hand, dismantling them with quick stabs and fluent swipes.</p><p>And the Chief? All he has is an assault rifle and a pistol, but that doesn't stop him from being the first person in the door, doesn't stop him from leading the fight with purposeful movements, stripping shields and landing headshots out of pure muscle memory.</p><p>She barely sees any of them move, and when they do, it's to <em>act</em>. They're controlled to an extent that simply isn't common, to an extent that makes Eleanor wonder if there isn't another reason.</p><p>But until she can investigate further, she'll settle for kicking fanatic butt.</p><p>The Anodite hybrid flicks her wrist, snapping armor and bones alike, tossing assailants around like rag dolls and letting her teammates finish them off. High above them, Alan is keeping the turrets off of them but she knows she'll have to step in soon. Manny's in the deep of it, alternating between bringing down four arms of steel corded muscle and firing off shots of plasma that chip away the Kig-Yars' shields, and then their flesh.</p><p>Helen makes it back inside of five minutes, and used her speed to full advantage.</p><p>It's muscle memory at this point, to expect Helen to cut down the swaths of bad guys Eleanor makes sure to be entrenched in, and lays down cover fire when the Anodite goes in for the killing blow and pulls back before she trips up. </p><p>Eleanor herself puts on a show, backflipping and flying over the heads of jeering covies, letting out a blast of mana here and a violent, bone-breaking kick there, and soon Helen and she have their side clear.</p><p>'You good?' Helen nods before zipping to assist the others. Eleanor kicks off, jetting towards the Phantoms attacking her teammate.</p><p>'Took you long enough!' She scoffs at her dark-skinned teammate's taunt, and raises her fist, aiming her bolts at what she can assume is the engine, Alan mirroring her actions as planned. They pirouette, and spiral, and do a dozen other aerial moves to avoid the sprays of plasma, and shoot down the troop carriers.</p><p>The cacophonous crashes are more satisfying than she likes to admit.</p><p>But there's plasma flying over her head again, and she whips around to see Sangheili... Outfitted with jetpacks.</p><p>'Go, Alan. I got these guys.'</p><p>She rolls her eyes and charges up her fists, flying straight at them. The battle below is starting to die down, and she refuses to be still grappling with some lizard-faces in <em>her domain</em> by the time they wrap up. </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Hope you had fun reading! Leave a kudos or a comment if you did!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Something Of A Legend</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Chief takes cover behind one of the defunct curling stations, raising his AR to whittle down the shields of the Elites hiding behind another station, using their ranged weaponry - some had needle rifles, some had plasma rifles - to their advantage as they peppered the Spartans’ shelter with glowing projectiles. Linda is picking off Brutes from her spot in the comptroller offices above the doorway they entered the hangar from, Fred and Armstrong are in the thick of battle to the far left, tearing the Covenant to shreds. Wheeler is attempting to take out a similar group of Covenant on the right side of the hangar, with Albright giving her cover fire.</p><p>So where’s...</p><p>He hasn’t finished the thought before a caped figure drops, kneeling atop a still Jetpack Elite, right between himself and the Elites. He opens his mouth to yell out a warning - though one would assume that any special forces operative would know better than to just thrash about wildly without knowledge of their surroundings- but she whips her hands up, a half dome of magenta energy thrumming to life around her that deflects their fire.</p><p>“What’s the plan, Chief?” Cross calls out over her shoulder, and he steps around to fire past her shield, catching the confused aliens off guard.</p><p>“They’re pinned down; we just need to mop them up.” He explains, getting another energy sword wielding warrior in the gut with five rounds of titanium shells.</p><p>“How good of a shot are you?” She asks, and he ducks back behind the cover she provided, listening as she continued. “If I could get their shielding in one go, could you take ‘em all out before they came back up?”</p><p>Chief jerks his head in a nod, retrieving his Magnum. “Affirmative. On your mark, Magister.”</p><p>She returns the gesture, and pulls back her foot so that her dominant right was now in the front, her arms following the movement of her body in a flowing gesture that collects the energy into a sphere that floats between her palms.</p><p>“Mark!” She flicks the sphere into their cover, and it evaporates into a wide arc that dusts over them, causing their shields to spark and sputter. He wastes no time in putting two round between each of their eyes.</p><p>Looking around, he sees Albright finish off the two Grunts with a blast of fire from his hand (his whole body is made up burning coals and his head consists of a flaming skull, but <em>okay</em>) and Wheeler subdues the fire with a small extinguisher pellet before it can get out of control.</p><p>He checks with Linda and Fred, who stand in the midst of dozens of varied Covenant corpses, and twitch their fingers in a gesture that’s meant to intimate to him that they’re fine.</p><p>“Well, that went great!” Armstrong laughs boisterously, spreading his upper arms while crossing his lower pair. (Which wasn’t a sentence Chief ever expected to think, but after the Flood...)</p><p>Cross huffs in amusement before turning to him, extending a hand. “We didn’t have a chance to get properly introduced, what with the fanatical aliens.” Her voice is calming in a way, sounding relaxed and friendly. “Magister Eleanor Cross. It’s good to finally meet you, Master Chief.”</p><p>“Finally?” He echoes, taking her hand to shake firmly — once, twice and separate.</p><p>“<em>Heh</em>, you’re something of a legend at ONI.”</p><p>He furrows his eyebrows in confusion, wishing he could see past her dark reflective faceplate. He was previously informed that she did in fact work with ONI spooks, but to be comfortable enough with them so as to engage in scuttlebutt? Even discounting the Covenant, he sincerely doubts soldiers, especially ONI, would be so cavalier. Nor does he understand the joke, if there was one.</p><p>“It’s nice to finally put a voice to the impressive file, Magister.” Cortana intones through his helmet speaker, not-so-subtly implying that she had cracked her files.</p><p>Cross tilts her head and he simply responds “Cortana – the Smart AI implanted in my armour.”</p><p>“...Oh.” Cross replies, a little hesitant. “I didn’t realise the UNSC was putting Smart AIs in people’s armour.”</p><p>He could correct her, tell her smart AIs weren’t standard equipment, but he didn’t feel it prudent to reveal too much just yet, so he gives a vague non-answer. “Just the powered armour.”</p><p>She looks quite like a human woman herself, dressed in a suit that was a little familiar to his undersuit… but only conceptually.</p><p>He recalls the surveillance footage they were shown of other Plumbers who have operated on Earth and her colonies before, and compares her suit to theirs.</p><p>The lights caught the fibers of her suit, glistening with a metallic shine: the suit itself was black, with sections of neutral grey at the midsection and the sides of the legs that were thinly outlined with red. Her gauntlets, utility belt and armor-plated boots were the same muted crimson. Her cape (which seemed like a hazard in a combat situation) was stark black on the outside and that crimson color on its interior side, and what he now recognizes as a Plumber's badge is emblazoned on her sternum, pinning the cape together.</p><p> It was designed to make her stand out as a separate entity while retaining most of the Plumbers' colors and some of their design specifics. Clever. Her helmet is standard Plumber issue — if the images were anything to go off of — but was chipped by a Carbine round near the temple.</p><p>"Yes, ma'am." Chief resists the urge to salute, unsure of how their ranks operated in relation to one another, settling for a crisp nod. "Master Chief Petty Officer John-117. This is-"</p><p> "Chief, I hate to interrupt," Cortana cuts in on a comms channel just between Chief and Cross, pulling up a message from Sgt. Johnson. "Apparently, ONI wants Epsilon Squad back on Earth as soon as possible."</p><p> Cross sighs deeply, hanging her head. "Of course, they do." She mutters, off-comms, before switching back to her normal tone. "Alright, let's scuttle this satellite and head back. Wheeler, where are we on that front?"</p><p> "No problems on this end, we're set up." Wheeler zips to her side, holding up a datapad. "As soon as you initiate protocol, we'll have one and a half minutes to exit the premises."</p><p> "Right." She unclips the badge from her belt, holding it over the translucent screen. It scans the visual before a green sphere forms in the middle of the screen, and she clears her throat before speaking. "Magister Second Class Cross, Eleanor A. Badge Number: 41319. Initiate Vatican Cameos." He raises an eyebrow at the WW2 code. For an alien organization, they did have a lot of references from Earth involved in their systems.</p><p> "<em>Vatican Cameos initiated</em>." An androgynous voice sounds from above, the speakers embedded in the walls. "<em>You have </em><strong>T-MINUS 90 SECONDS</strong><em> to evacuate. Have a good evening</em>."</p><p> "That's our cue, folks." Cross jerks her head towards the West entrance, and the others follow her lead, picking up into a paced jog to the "backdoor entry" at which Johnson was waiting.</p><hr/><p>They climb into the Pelican first, Blue Team bringing up the rear.</p><p>“We all good, Chief?” Johnson calls over his shoulder, getting ready to lift off.</p><p>“Affirmative, Sergeant.” Chief calls back, keeping the AR in his hands but angling it down and away from the Plumbers as they seat themselves on one side of the craft, obviously a little uncomfortable but making do. “Let’s go.”</p><p>Chief holds his hand over one of the ports, transferring Cortana to the Pelican to assist Johnson – though in the almost three decades he’s known the man, he’s <em>never </em>needed assistance with piloting.</p><p>“Well, well, I see you’re still kicking, Johnson.” Cross quips good-naturedly, earning a hearty chuckle from the older man.</p><p>“What, you thought it was that easy to get rid of me?”</p><p>“We were hopin’, more like.” Armstrong grumbles from next to his leader, having to crane his neck to achieve some semblance of comfort.</p><p>“Don’t listen to him, Avery.” Wheeler comments warmly, Albright nodding behind her as he adds on. “We’re glad to see you’re okay.”</p><p>The interaction makes Chief feel like he’s intruding on a personal moment, so he looks away, trying his best to ignore them.</p><p>Cross is intently looking through the small screen projected across her left gauntlet, piping up to inform them that “The Outposts have been scrubbed; Earth is safe from infiltration, at least on this end.” She sighs, content. She reaches beneath her jawline, causing the helmet to detach and she pulls it off-</p><p>“God, I can’t believe they <em>shot me in the head.</em>” She grumbles, turning it side to side to inspect the damage with a disdained twist of her lips.</p><p>She doesn’t just <em>look </em>human. Eleanor Cross <em>is </em>human. With deep green eyes, short blonde hair (in a style that just served to emphasize her civilian identity), full lips and beige skin, she looked like she belonged in a magazine rather than on the front lines.</p><p>Chief blinks, the question forming in his mind. She’s so clearly human… And ONI has never shied away from immoral experimentation.</p><p>It makes sense – why they still deign to trust her (or whatever semblance of trust they have), the resigned contempt she holds for them, why she’s worked with them in the past.</p><p>Were all of Epsilon Squad experiments?</p><p>“Really. How are you, Johnson?” The man makes a noise of disinterest.</p><p>“The same thing I’ve been doing for years: saving the damn galaxy. How about you? Bet you have a movie deal and ten endorsements under your belt already.” Cross huffs, shaking her head sheepishly.</p><p>“Nuh uh, it’s all been working for me. Managed to get to Magister Second Class, and I’ve been here for a while-“</p><p>“Only of your own volition.” Albright coughs out, thumping his chest with his fist. Wheeler snorts, and Armstrong jostles the woman.</p><p>“Hey, hey, Nora’s been busy with her new Paragon Program. It’s been kicking ass all over the damn place.” Armstrong grins, but Cross keeps her head bowed, arms crossed as she flushes.</p><p>“Paragon Program?” John asks before he can stop himself, keeping his eyes pinned to the Epsilon leader. She flicks her gaze up, almost… shocked but recovers quickly, sitting up straight.</p><p>“The Paragon Program was a way to circumvent the Power Sanctions – a treaty that was put in place to control individuals with greater abilities than the average level of the galaxies. People who come under the Sanctions aren’t allowed to use their abilities beyond a certain extent; they’re even expected to employ suppressors if they want to be in the IPC.” She explains, lips twitching downwards, making her dissent towards the sanctions obvious.</p><p> “But this just means that these guys don’t learn how to use their abilities – so instead, the Paragon program recruits and trains them to be specialized teams, to carry out high risk operations and defend against other higher-level adversaries.”</p><p>She eyes them awkwardly, like she wants to add something— but she doesn’t have to say “Like the Spartans” for them to grasp her meaning.</p><p>But thankfully, Johnson cuts in with a hearty laugh. “So, it’s a super squad.” The older Sergeant’s attempt to diffuse the situation works perfectly: all the tension escapes the woman as she groans, throwing her head back.</p><p>“The point of <strong>Paragon</strong> was to stop using <em>that</em> <em>word</em>.” She mumbles sadly, staring up at the ceiling.</p><p>“Yes, I would <em>hate </em>being compared to Iron Man too.” Cortana chimes in through his external speaker.</p><p>“I’m more of a <em>Batman </em>girl myself.” She replies, lips quirking upwards.</p><p>“I dunno, I see you more of a <em>Scarlet Witch </em>type.” Albright makes strange <em>wiggling </em>gestures with his fingers, causing Eleanor to smack him in the shoulder.</p><p>“Can we just agree to just… <em>not?”</em>  Eleanor looks over the habitants of the Pelican, landing on Johnson who chuckles and nods.</p><p>“Whatever you say, <em>Magister.”</em></p><p> </p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I’m sure ONI meeting Eleanor and Epsilon is going to go over great. Yep, no tension at all. I promise. </p><p>Feedback is always appreciated! Leave a kudos or a comment! I love interacting with all of you, so don’t be shy!</p>
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